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From SMUMustangs.com:

Lashlee Finalist For 2023 Eddie Robinson Coach Of The Year Award

DALLAS (SMU) – Head coach Rhett Lashlee was named a finalist for the 2023 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in a release by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, on Tuesday.

Lashlee is one of 12 coaches who were named, joining David Braun of Northwestern; Jamey Chadwell of Liberty; Kalen DeBoer of Washington; Eliah Drinkwitz of Missouri; Jedd Fisch of Arizona; Chuck Martin of Miami (Ohio); Mike Norvell of Florida State; Barry Odom of UNLV; Nick Saban of Alabama; Steve Sarkisian of Texas; and Jon Sumrall of Troy. Sumrall is the only coach among the 12 to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons.

The award winner this season will be chosen from among a list that includes one repeat finalist and two other finalists from previous seasons, including one who is now a nine-time finalist. Eight of the finalists won conference championships this year, including three who will compete in the upcoming College Football Playoff; seven of the honorees are first-time finalists.

This is the first time Lashlee has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious award.

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State's Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. In 1997, the FWAA coaching award was named after the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

The Mustangs have posted an 11-2 record so far this year, capturing their first AAC Championship while going undefeated (8-0) in conference play. The 11 wins are the most by the program since the 1982 National Championship team. The conference championship marks the first outright championship won by SMU in 41 years.

SMU has been dominant all season long on both sides of the ball, ranking in the top 20 in the NCAA in numerous categories.

On offense, both the 528 points scored and 40.6 scoring average rank second highest in program history. The 28 rushing touchdowns are tied for third most in program history. The Mustangs have scored at least 55 points four times this season, the most in program history for a single season.

Defensively, the Mustangs have been one of the best teams in the country this season. The 47 sacks rank second in program history for a single season. SMU took it to the conference opposition, posting an average margin of victory of 28.9 points (45.9-17.0) in conference games this year, the largest margin for any team in the NCAA in conference play in 2023.

Lashlee was also named co-Coach of the Year by the Dave Campbell's Texas Football publication on Monday.

It will be Chadwell of liberty. It will be announced on Dec 20, before liberty biberty goes up in flames against Oregon.

My money would be on Jamey Chadwell. I've watched his career here in the southeast and they guy is a rising star. He's been successful everywhere he's been and going undefeated in your 1st year at any school playing against any level of talent is an accomplishment. He's been smart enough to know he needs a stud QB and has managed to do that no matter what school he's coached at.

My vote would go to Lashlee, of course.

But take my personal bias out of it and it would go to DeBoer or, as much as I hate to say it, Norvell. No matter what the NCAA says, going undefeated in the Pac-12 or ACC is incredible.

LibertyGuy doesn't deserve it at all. Running the table against an intramural schedule is about as impressive as outrunning a bunch of trees.

Bias schmias. I'm all in for David Braun. He was just named Big Ten CotY and what he's done this year is nothing short of miraculous. But I would still be thrilled if Lashlee won. He did more than just pile up wins; he took the team to a whole other level.

Chadwell inherited that team (and schedule) like Sonny inherited TCU's team. That's not coach of the year. It's a year 1 gift basket.

Lashlee took a team that had not won a conference championship since 1982 (84 shared) to the championship and won the game with a backup QB. In his 2nd year, took a 7-6 team to 11-2 and ranked - Bowl to come.

He did this without the benefits of a Power conference.

Taking a team in a Power conference from 11-2 to 13-0 hardly seems to be coach of the year worthy.

Even Liberty was a winning team in 22 (8-5 Ind). Beating up on FBS teams still in their FCS diapers, playing the absolute worst schedule in FBS should not be rewarded, again.

Just look at SMUs statistical turnaround, final rankings, awards - by every measure SMU and Lashlee shines brightest.

Rhett Lashlee - 2nd Year SMU
- '22 7-6 (5-3); '23 11-2 (9-0) Bowl TBD
- AAC Champs - 1st Conf Title since 1982 (84 shared)
- AAC CCG win over '22 champ Tulane, SMU w/o starting QB
- Tot Off #14; Tot Def #12
- Score Off #6; Score Def #12
- Tackles for Loss #13
- FPI 20; Sagarin 21; Massey 26*

Liberty coach
- 22 8-5 Ind; '23 13-0 Bowl LOSS Against Oregon
- CUSA champs - New conference with two teams transitioning to FBS.
- Tot Off #3; Tot Def #46
- Score Off #5; Score Def #40
- Tackles for Loss #54
- FPI 49; Sagarin 47; Massey 35*

* I do not use Massey composite because it has some ridiculous outliers that skew ratings. For instance, Liberty is as high as 3, and as low as 89. Both are ridiculous, but the 3 is outrageously inaccurate.

Lashlee may not win, but he is the most deserving IMHO.

I don't care who wins as long as it's not the Liberty coach